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"Who are you?"
Hearing the stranger call out the names of the Shi brothers, Shi Mo and Shi Mo, along with the rest of the New Heaven Dou Battle Team, looked confused.
It was Ning Rongrong who recognized him first, though she paused before asking, "Are you Yu Xiaogang?"
"Yes, yes, it's me, Rongrong. I'm Yu Xiaogang."
Relieved that someone finally recognized him, Yu Xiaogang quickly confirmed it, not minding that his former student skipped the formalities.
The past month of begging had nearly crushed all the pride he once had.
Right now, he just wanted to go 'home', back to Shrek Academy, back to Flender and the others.
He couldn't take another day of this miserable life: begging by day, suffering at night, living worse than a stray dog.
After his answer, the group looked him over again and started to see hints of the man he used to be.
But the Yu Xiaogang standing there was a sorry sight.
He looked twenty years older, like a worn-out old man, and there was something frail and strange about him, almost like a palace eunuch. No wonder they hadn't recognized him at first.
Ning Rongrong let out a small laugh. "So it is you. Weren't you off on some business? How did you end up like this?"
Yu Xiaogang, afraid of being left behind again like he was with Ning Tian, didn't hold back. "Oh, don't even ask. Remember when I went with you all to the Sunset Forest to hunt soul rings for Little San, Mubai, Xiao Wu, and the Shi brothers? I had to leave halfway to head to Spirit City. But before I even crossed the Heaven Dou Empire's border, I got robbed. They took everything: my soul tool, my money, even my food. And worst of all, those cursed bandits crippled my soul power. I couldn't get back to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy or even into the city, so I ended up like this."
He didn't mention being castrated or running into Ning Tian.
If he did, they might laugh at him or worse, ditch him just like Ning Tian had.
Hearing his story, the group went quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. They couldn't help but remember what Tang San had said after falling to Cang hui Academy's Seven-in-One Fusion Technique.
Finally, Yufeng spoke up, unable to hold it in. "Could it be Tang San's doing? I mean, Yu Xiaogang might be a bit... odd, but he's still Tang San's teacher. How could he—"
Osler shook his head. "No way. We've been in competitions this whole time. He wouldn't have had the chance."
Ning Rongrong cut in, "Why not? Don't forget, he flat-out said he wanted to kill Yu Xiaogang. Even if he didn't have time himself, couldn't he have asked his Titled Douluo father to do it?"
Ye Lingling nodded. "What Rongrong said makes sense . Yu Xiaogang's lucky he's still Tang San's teacher, or it could've been worse."
Yu Xiaogang stood there, stunned, as their words sank in. Were they saying his disciple Tang San or maybe Tang San's father, the Titled Douluo did this to him?
How could that be?
How could Tang San do this? How could he dare? Wasn't he afraid of being branded a traitor to his teacher?
Refusing to believe the disciple he'd raised for eight or nine years would turn on him, Yu Xiaogang forced a shaky smile. "You're joking, right?"
Ning Rongrong gave him a look of disgust. "Who's joking? Your star pupil Tang San blames you for giving him three poison-attribute soul rings. They made him a laughing stock in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament. After he got hit by Cang hui Academy's Seven-in-One Fusion Technique, he shouted out loud that he wanted to kill you. The whole city's heard about it by now. Guess you were too busy begging to notice."
Boom!
Her words struck Yu Xiaogang like lightning. Was it really Tang San who'd ruined him?
Thinking back, the way he'd been castrated matched how Tang San had dealt with Dai Mubai: slow and deliberate.
The thought broke him. He let out a wild scream, stumbling back as he stared at the New Heaven Dou Battle Team. "It can't be! It can't be! I'm his teacher! He wouldn't kill me! He can't kill me! I'm his teacher!"
Just then, a rough, familiar voice called out, "Xiaogang?"
Everyone turned to see the Shrek group stepping out from the city gates.
Clearly, they had the same idea as the New Heaven Dou Battle team, to train in Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's simulated environments and get stronger.
The speaker was Flender. Even though Yu Xiaogang had gone from a scruffy middle-aged man to looking like an old eunuch, Flender knew his old friend right away.
"There they are, and Tang San's with them. Why don't you ask him yourself?" Ning Rongrong said, brushing off Yu Xiaogang and the Shrek group. They weren't on the same side, after all.
Zhu Zhuqing, Zhu Qing, Ye Lingling, and the rest of the New Heaven Dou Team agreed.
Without waiting for the Shrek group to get closer, they walked off.
Seeing Flender, the man he'd been desperate to find, Yu Xiaogang felt no relief, only anger. Why hadn't Flender come for him sooner? Why had he been left to suffer, begging all day and used by beggars at night?
But more than his frustration with Flender, he needed to know Tang San's true intentions. Was it really Tang San who'd hurt him?
Pushing past Flender, he went straight to Tang San. His rough, weathered hands, worn from days of hardship, grabbed Tang San's solid shoulders. In a pleading voice, he said, "Little San, I'm your teacher. You wouldn't kill me, right? Right? It wasn't you who sent someone to rob me and cripple my soul power, was it? Tell me it wasn't you!"
His words shocked the Shrek group, stirring up memories of Tang San's threats against him. Yu Tianheng asked, wide-eyed, "Uncle, your soul power's gone?"
Flender, worried, said, "Xiaogang, what happened to you? How did you end up like this?"
But Yu Xiaogang didn't seem to hear them. He held tight to Tang San's shoulders, begging, "Answer me, Little San! You wouldn't kill me, right? I'm your teacher! You wouldn't do that! And my soul power, it wasn't you who took it, right?"
In truth, by now, Yu Xiaogang was 70-80% sure in his heart that Tang San was the one who had ruined him.
He had seen how Tang San treated him before, after all.
Plus, there was that humiliating moment during the Spirit Master Tournament when Tang San lost control of himself in front of the Heaven Dou Empire's nobles and all the top academies.
It'd be odd if Tang San didn't want him dead after that.
Still, Yu Xiaogang clung to the hope that Tang San would deny it.
Only then could he keep chasing his unfinished dreams: becoming a respected master of theory, earning his father's and clan's approval, and proving to that woman from the Spirit Hall who'd once discarded him that he wasn't useless.
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